Matai Tagao’i Talks USC Commitment, Future Position, Coach Riley, Coach Entz and Coach Dogg

One of the top linebacker prospects in the 2025 recruiting class Matai Tagoa’i (6-4, 190) announced his commitment to USC on Monday April 1, but it wasn’t an April fools joke.

We had submitted a USC prediction prior to his announcement, so the commitment wasn’t a surprise. But less than two months before his verbal pledge, the Trojans were not sitting in a favorable spot for him.

Tagoa’i had visited USC a total of five times, with two of three of those trips happening in a five-day span between March 23, March 28 and April 1.

“I like the entire atmosphere of the school, the players, the coaches and the culture that they’re building,” Tagoa’i told On3. “From the way they practice, work out and carry themselves off the field, I like them a lot. I’m a West Coast kid, so I feel like I’m at home there. Then, I like how I fit in schematically with their defense. I feel like I could be dangerous.

“It definitely was a big thing for me that they told me they’re trying to change things at USC. I could actually see them trying to do that at practices. And then I sat down with Coach D’Anton (Lynn). It really just helped me get a good perspective on how they would use me.”

Tagoai’s role in the USC defense

Make no mistake about Tagoa’i, this is an elite athlete and football player. He’ll be a versatile player for both Lynn and eventually Matt Entz.

“It’s really it’s up in the air right now, but they definitely said my first two years I might be able to play nickel and play in the box a little bit,” Tagoa’i said. “But then they said they want me to grow into that Will (Linebacker) spot.”

Matt Entz

USC introduced its new defensive staff to the media a few months ago and Matt Entz was one of the more impressive guys

“Coach (Lincoln) Riley was actually explaining to me how Coach Entz was a head coach of a of a powerhouse of a real powerhouse, and they were winners,” said Tagoa’i. “So imagine what he’s gonna do when he’s just in charge of one position group and just taking care of each specific player. That was a crazy fact for me.

“You could tell he’s a football dude, he’s very disciplined and he’s gonna keep me accountable for even the small things. That’s what I need as a as a player.”

Lincoln Riley

Not sure there’s a head coach more involved with recruiting than Lincoln Riley. He’s been a big part of Tagoa’i’s recruitment, despite him being a defensive prospect.

“It was easy to bring my mom and my pops to USC and just allow my pops to see what it’s like,” Tagoa’i said. “It’s different for me telling them how I feel. Then he went down there with me and got to talk to Coach Riley. He then felt the same thing about USC, just because he could tell coach Riley was genuine in my recruiting. So that’s all really want.”

“Coach Riley told me to come down on a Monday and three days later I was there again. So I brought my family and we fell in love.”

Coach Dogg (Aaron Amaama)

Aaron Amaama aka “Coach Dogg” was at Tennessee until about a month ago. He was recruiting Tagoa’i and Tagoa’i was set visit Knoxville prior to Riley hiring him. The Trojans brought him in for a reason, he’s a valuable addition to the recruiting support staff. He’s the Polynesian Gavin Morris, a guy people love to be around and he’s there for his guys.

“That’s my guy,” said Tagoa’i of Coach Dogg. “He said that this is genuinely the spot for him at USC.
Me and him, we just chop it up and he’s someone I can talk to all the time.”

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